Maryam

Concept of Maryam on the right. By Gladys Betiles 2016.

Background

Maryam (pronounced [ENG] Mary-am, ([JPN] マリアム (Mariamu), [KOR] 마리암) is a minor character that appears in Yscariot™. First appearing in Sphere of Light, she is introduced indirectly in Verse 7 as the mother of the main character, Yscariot. During the conception of the story in 1998, the author, Marcus Medina, originally planned to have Yscariot (previously known as Hayato) as an orphan, which resulted in her late entry in 2000. During 2011 and 2012, Medina sought to change the physical appearance and name of the main character which also resulted in Maryam receiving her name and new racial designation. The idea of having Yscariot’s mother named Maryam was in part an ode to both Catholicism and Islam. Medina came up with the idea of naming Yscariot’s mother “Maryam” to create a parallel to the mother of Jesus Christ, or Mary. While in Iraq, Medina read some of the Quran on his free time and noticed that Mary’s name was in fact written as “Maryam”. As a result, he would use the Islamic version of the name. Another reason for naming the character Maryam is in recognition of the author’s maternal family following Christianity, and his father’s family following Catholic beliefs.

Biography

Maryam was born on 03-04-BGA5 in The Kingdom of Eygea as the second oldest child of six siblings. She is of both Faroanian and Nubian descent and attended Kingdom College graduating first in the field of Molecular Biology and later in Genetic Engineering before the age of 20. Possessing an extremely high IQ, she effortlessly cracked the codes of animal DNA structuring at the age of twelve.

After receiving an invitation to bring her skills to Mesoa, Maryam moved to the Urdean States at twenty years of age and worked for the country’s top scientific company, “iOn All Global“. She worked on organizing antibodies and other secret projects such as the discovery and research on an ancient “red feather”. After working for two years at the company, Maryam’s breakthrough discovery involved human-based proteins capable of restructuring damaged cells through the duplication of the Red Feather’s genetic makeup and its ability to regenerate damaged tissue.

Eager to help the poor and sick, Maryam attempted to use her knowledge to heal and cure a dozen subjects successfully without permission from the company. Due to her high level skill in science however, she was given a warning and was able to resume her work. She secretly aligned herself with a group of individuals who would counteract diseases and infections for the needy in urban environments, but was later turned in by a close associate. Again, she received a warning and resumed her work. A month later, she blacked out in her laboratory and was discovered to have fallen ill to an unknown diseased code-named LN01, also known by the disease known as Leprosy. Due to her unwillingness to be subjected to numerous tests from her colleagues and the discovery of her pregnancy with her first child, Yscariot, she voluntarily left the company and opportunity of gaining a rich life while quietly moving to Nazares. From there, Maryam adapted into the quiet life of a librarian and read books continuously throughout her pregnancy.

In the year GA19, she gave birth to her only son, Yscariot. Although Maryam gradually regained her health, a trusted doctor diagnosed Yscariot with Leprosy six months after his birth triggering distrust of her former colleagues and the Conglomerati, which systematically controlled all aspects of science and business. Maryam devoted her life to find a cure for Leprosy without the use of the controversial process of Deleperization, yet it remained to be the only science-related issue that she is unable to tackle. As Yscariot grew, she was unable to spend more time with her son as she needed the funds to pay for his treatment, and although Yscariot wishes for his mother to work less throughout his years of gradual cellular deterioration, she refused his wishes and continued to work harder to support him. After Yscariot’s absorption of the Sphere of Light, Leprosy was mysteriously eradicated from his body, and Joseth stepped in as the doctor that cured him. When Joseth met with Maryam in Yscariot: Sphere of Light, Maryam took notice of Joseth as a “familiar face”.

Maryam and Yscariot. Art by Gladys Betiles July 2016

Personal Life

Maryam has few known family members living in Mesoa either biologically or by other means. Yscariot is directly related to her as her only son. Maryam’s only romantic relationship in her adulthood was a platonic relationship with an equally successful male colleague that would eventually climb the levels of management and relieved her of her duties with sincerity. She claims that she comes from a poor family in Egyea, but she also has ties to the Monarchy of Egyea, as with most Faroanians living near the royal residences. Maryam’s other relatives include Riu and Sho, which are her nephews. In reality, the mother of the Riu and Sho is Yscariot’s godmother.